Fruit salads can be created in so many ways that the world of opportunities is almost endless, the idea is that these fruit salads are attractive to children. With these ideas you will surely find the right one to give to children so that they can eat more fruits and take advantage of all its advantages.
Fruits are authentic delicacies that nature offers us. In its composition there are natural sugars (complex carbohydrates) that provide them with a peculiar sweet-acid relationship, an exquisite flavor. The texture of the fruits is crisp and refreshing, in addition, all the elements of its composition are healthy and beneficially influence our health.
The fruit is composed of water, minerals, natural sugars, fiber, vitamins, carotenoids and bioflavonoids, the first three are basic elements. Natural fiber favors intestinal transit and prevents colon cancer .
On the other hand, vitamins help us to defend ourselves from infectious and polluting agents; carotenoids and bioflavonoids protect us against the two most fearsome diseases in the western world: cancer and heart attacks.
Creative ideas for fruit salads
Allergic processes have grown dramatically in recent years. There are allergies produced by agents that we inhale, that we ingest or that we touch. All of them are characterized by causing an excessive defensive reaction of our body through the secretion of histamine.
Quercetin is a phytochemical belonging to the category of bioflavonoids found in apples, cherries, pears and red grapes. Its anti-inflammatory properties make it an antidote to histamine, an antihistamine that instead of residing in a pharmacy counter is found in fruit.
Fruits rehydrate us, they give us back the mineral salts that we lose when we perspire, they help our tissues to regenerate thanks to their antioxidant properties, they prevent diseases, they do not produce any toxic product in their digestion, they help to eliminate toxins and uric acid, they raise our tone. vital, they are not fattening, they offer us vegetable fiber, they are easy to digest and they have an exquisite flavor.
All these properties make them privileged foods, almost magical potions that exert powerful influences on our health. Such a product can only be the elixir of life.
Fresh fruit is an excellent substitute for those carbonated and sweetened beverages that harm us so much in the medium term. Fresh fruit restores water and lost mineral salts, but also provides us with energy in the form of easily absorbable natural sugars and compensates us in excess with many other active ingredients that guarantee immunity against common diseases and prevention against serious diseases.
Convalescents, children and the elderly have something in common: their increased exposure to viral diseases and their unique dietary needs.
The fruit strengthens our immune system thanks to the medicinal properties that reside both in its antioxidant components (vitamins) and in its phytochemicals (bioflavonoids, carotenoids and phenolic compounds).
In addition, the fruit is a natural rehydrator due to its high content of water and mineral salts. And its sugars give convalescents and children the energy they need to recover from their illness or continue to grow respectively.
The difference between a natural sugar (like that of a fruit) and a refined one (like the one we add to milk or find in cakes, drinks …) lies in its digestion. The digestion of refined sugars gives rise to highly toxic waste products for our body. On the contrary, the natural sugars in fruits are absorbed without producing any waste.
The secret of fiber is that it adds volume to our stools and speeds up its intestinal transit. Thanks to this property, the feces are in contact with the walls of the large intestine for less time and it prevents it from reabsorbing harmful substances from digestion.
Consuming fiber prevents other ailments such as diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, appendicitis, and gallstones.
In a study that was carried out in the United Kingdom over 15 years, it was shown that the continued consumption of fruits reduced the chances of suffering a heart attack by 24% and the risk of suffering a stroke by 32%.
Children like sweets because they are sweet and have attractive colors. It is no accident: your glucose needs are much higher than those of an adult.
However, the sweets are made from unhealthy elements such as industrial gelatins, refined sugars, colorants, preservatives … That is why they become one of the least recommended foods that exist … and precisely we give them to our children.
The best substitute for sweets is without any doubt a fresh fruit. Like those, it has an attractive color and a good amount of sugar, but unlike them, everything inside is advantages. Sugars are natural, not refined, that is, their absorption does not cause toxic waste products. Its colors come from carotenoids that, unlike artificial industrial dyes, not only do not produce toxicity or adverse reactions but – quite the contrary – offer children their high value as natural medicines.
Fruits are powerful antioxidants. They do not get fat. They raise the vital tone. They restore mineral salts after exercising. They have phytochemicals that strengthen our blood vessels, detoxify the blood, have hypotensive properties and help us eliminate bad cholesterol.
If we consider some of the risk factors for heart attacks (hypertension, sedentary life, smoking, excess weight, stress and cholesterol) we will realize that the fruit is an invaluable help to prevent these conditions.
The antioxidant properties of vitamins C and E and beta-carotene allow our body to maintain collagen and elastin, two fundamental components of a young and smooth skin. As we age, collagen production decreases and elastin fibers stretch until they wrinkle. Antioxidant vitamins slow both processes.
In a single product we find seven vital elements for our health, a concentration difficult to overcome by any other food.
Our body loses water and mineral salts through perspiration. When we do physical work, a sporting activity or simply when we are hot, our body dehydrates and demineralizes. To compensate for these losses, we usually drink sweetened sodas, isotonic drinks or simply water.
Excess oil on the skin is a direct consequence of bad eating habits: excess fried foods, junk food, sweets, sweetened drinks, refined sugars … To improve the quality of the skin and neutralize excess fat, we must modify our habits and consume fruits and vegetables, especially raw.
A study carried out by John Hopkins University (called Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)) showed that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is as effective in treating hypertensive patients as antihypertensive drugs.
The hypotensive benefits of fruits are the combination of vegetable fiber and mineral salts (magnesium and potassium) and the zero content of saturated fat.
The fruit is, first of all, a 100% cholesterol-free product and also, thanks to its soluble fiber content, it helps reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. Two conclusive reasons to modify our eating habits.
Cholesterol is a necessary lipid for our body, but its excess is a serious problem because it is deposited on the walls of our blood vessels, blinds them and can lead to malnutrition of some heart cells and therefore heart attacks or other cardiovascular accidents.
The natural remedies against excess cholesterol are well known. Avoid red meat, increase the consumption of oily fish, consume skimmed milk, increase the consumption of cereals, do some exercise and significantly increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables.
The fruit is, first of all, a 100% cholesterol-free product and also, thanks to its soluble fiber content, it helps reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. Two conclusive reasons to modify our eating habits.
Fiber is a basic component of our diet. Thanks to it we can prevent stomach, colon, rectal, mouth, lung cancer …
The World Cancer Research Fund has calculated that approximately 40% of cancers could be prevented with correct eating habits such as fiber consumption. There is no better way to obtain it than by resorting to raw vegetables and fruits.
Fresh fruits, due to their high content of mineral salts, help our body to eliminate uric acid. Thanks to this diuretic action they are especially indicated for cases of rheumatism, gout and arthritis. The fruits that best help us to fulfill this task are strawberries, grapes, cherries and raspberries.
Acidic fruits such as citrus are precisely those that neutralize body acids. And this is the best remedy against osteoarthritis: counteract the destructive power of acids with alkalizing foods such as fruits.
Most of the body acids come from wrong eating patterns: excess proteins such as those from meats, fish, eggs, cheeses and nuts … For this reason, people who suffer from osteoarthritis – of which there are many – must take care of their diet very especially and base it on the daily consumption of fruits, vegetables and vegetables.
In this way they not only reduce their protein intake (and therefore the cause of their excess acids) but also consume the antidote of those acids, neutralize them and help their metabolism to regain the lost balance.
Constipation is a very widespread disease. In addition to causing daily discomfort, it is a direct cause of anal fissures, hemorrhoids and is related in the long term to colon cancer. Retained stool allows the large intestine to be in contact with waste products for longer and to reabsorb them. This is why it is so important that the intestinal tract works correctly and regularly.
The fruit is a laxative with no side effects. Provides fiber and water, in addition to helping stool have the proper consistency.
Fresh fruit is the most antioxidant food that nature gives us. The antioxidant compounds par excellence are Vitamin C, E and carotenoids, the three components of most of the fruit.
The associations and foundations against cancer have shown through various studies that various types of cancer (such as stomach cancer) have been substantially reduced by incorporating an orange juice a day into the diet.
It is a chain process, an instability that is as contagious as it is harmful to our health, since these free radicals damage the membranes of our cells and their presence is related to the appearance of the dreaded cancer.
The possibilities of having fruit are almost endless. Here are some suggested:
- Raw and on its own (for breakfast or as a snack between meals). In this way we benefit from all its advantages one hundred percent, as we prevent the fruit from mixing with other foods and fermenting with them during digestion.
- As a dessert, either raw or made in the form of cakes, pastries, ice cream.
- In juice, but always freshly squeezed or blended.
- Whipped with cow, oat, coconut, or almond milk.
- As a garnish for certain dishes. For example the applesauce with the pork tenderloin.
- Roasted. Especially apples and pears. Attention to the possibilities of the microwave.
- Mixed with cereals for breakfast.
- Being an integral part of a salad.
- Like fruit salad, mixing four or finco types of fruits.
- Mixed with yogurt, kefir, ice cream, cream, etc.
Various studies and investigations have conclusively demonstrated the anticancer properties of the fruit. According to a study published in the journal Nature, these properties are based on the action of three elements: bioflavonoids, polyphenols and vitamin E.
Dr. Rui Hai Liu points out that none of these three elements is entirely effective on their own, but that precisely the combination of these substances constitutes a powerful anticancer agent.